Jet Blue Case Study Essay

The company is in direct violation of the ADEA of 1967 which states (2)“certain applicant and employees who are 40 years of age and older are protected from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment.” In this case the 68 year old employee could sue the company based on Age Discrimination and win.

“The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibited employers from discriminating against individuals who were 40-65 years old. The Act pertains to employers who have 20 or more employees for 20 or more calendar weeks(either in the current or preceding calendar year); unions with 25 or more members; employment agencies; and federal, state, and local government subunits”(Mondy, Wayne 2010 pg.62,63). Gelato Cheese Company’s entire cleaning crew is under the age of 30 and that makes them not in compliance with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act law. There are some major changes that need to be made at this company in order for them to not have law suits filed against

• The Plaintiff made no formal complaint of age discrimination immediately after hearing this comment, (Twomey, 2010, pg 527) The Plaintiff contends that she has direct evidence of the discrimination in the comment made by Anita Benko that she would “probably get a job after plaintiff revealed to Benko her age ( Twomey, 2010, pg 528). The discrimination was blatant in this case. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits discrimination against an individual over age of 40 with respect to “compensation terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of an individuals age.( Twomey, 2010, pg 528)

| The Equality Act 2010 brought together existing regulations that already gave protection against ageism and other forms of discrimination, and extended them.  Since October 2010 this has been the main law relating to age discrimination, protecting you against ageism in employment, education and training.The law maintains your right not to be disadvantaged or treated badly at work because of your age.

According to The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.), “The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on their age and it applies to both job applicants and employees. With regards to condition, any term or privilege of employment, it is against the law under the ADEA to discriminate against a person because of his/her age which includes layoff promotion, compensation, hiring, firing, training, job assignments and benefits. It is also unlawful for an employer to discriminate against anyone for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing as age discrimination charge, testifying or participating in an in an investigation proceeding or litigation under the ADEA” (para.1).

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) was enacted by congress because of its concern that older workers were disadvantaged in retaining and regaining employment.

Age discrimination legislation therefore applies effectively to everyone who is applying for work and who is

Human resource departments today have a more distinct, calculated position within organizations, and human resource strategy influences the bottom line. “One of the challenges for HR leaders is convincing executive leadership teams that human capital is one of the most important resources in which the company can invest” (Mayhew, 2014, p.). Subsequently, “this return on investment is an essential part of the argument for including HR as part of an overall business strategy” (Mayhew, 2014, p.). Human resource departments utilize the information given to them from company executives and leaders, coupled with their respective expertise on all things personnel, and they plan and implement staffing concerns for the betterment of the organization. From preparing job analysis, to comparing inventory and forecasting, it is the responsibility of human resources to consider the objectives of an organization and fulfill those goals while operating the specific planning relative to HR.

First, Age discrimination is a very common reason why some people are not employed. However, there are laws in place that prohibits this kind of discrimination. Miller gave an explanation on the about age discrimination act (ADEA) of 1967, it prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of age against individuals forty years of age or older (Miller,2013).

JetBlue Airways was established to be built on five core values of safety, caring, integrity, fun and passion. “JetBlue is a value based company built on the principle that to be extraordinary on the outside you must first be extraordinary on the inside” (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Three national employment opportunities that influenced the hiring process of JetBlue with the first being the Age Discrimination Act of 1967. The Age Discrimination Act of 1967 “is a federal law that protect workers and job applicants age 40 and over from age-based discrimination in all aspects of employment” (AARP, 2014). JetBlue choose to make sure they avoided any chance of age discrimination by hiring people based on several attributes and one being there attitudes. By selecting individuals, this way it created diversity in the workplace.

The United States workforce is aging and as health care improves the older population is living longer. Because of this older individual are staying the job market longer, an employer or human resource person should keep this in mind and possibly review the office procedures and hiring processes. Age discrimination claims will continue to increase as the workforce continues to grow older. Human resources, managers, and employers must be proactive versus reactive to have policies in place in the event of a suit happens. There is more to discrimination than what is on the surface of things. According to Walsh, in his book Employment Law for Human Resource Practice, 4th Edition, “discrimination can be further separated into four legal theories, these being: disparate treatment, adverse impact, failure to reasonably accommodate, and retaliation” (Walsh, 2013). One of the main reasons for disparate treatment is that employers must be very careful not to base their decisions about their employees on a protected class’s characteristics. So what exactly is the key issue in disparate treatment? According to Walsh, discriminatory intent is the key. Whether or not the motive was intentional the policy maker created policy that was in violation of the ADEA.

Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006- This says it is unlawful for an employer or potential employer to discriminate against you at work because of your age. The Residential Care and Nursing Homes Regulations 2002. This protects the rights of people living in care homes.

Within case analysis assignment, the JetBlue case is analyzed strategically in this document to set answers for following basic questions:

He felt it was too easy to achieve this goal as most of the airline companies, including Southwest were operating in a mediocre fashion. Ann Rhoades, the Executive Vice president for HR, helped Neeleman to put in place a strong organizational culture. She believed that people can accomplish the extraordinary when they are given the authority and responsibility to succeed. JetBlue’s organizational structure was created based on five steps. They had strong company values and then hiring managers selected employees who mirrored the company’s values. Next, the company ensured that the company exceeded employee expectations and to listen to customers. And, finally, the company created a plan to drive excellence. The values established by JetBlue were safety, caring, integrity, fun, and passion.

The law also strongly (and word strongly should be emphasized here) prohibits against harassment of a worker basing on her or his age. Harassment can range from derogatory or offensive remarks about an individual age to promotion denial. Nevertheless, the law does not prohibit offhand comments, simple teasing, isolated incidents that are not serious.